The Spanish giants had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the round of 16 tie on Wednesday, but the holding midfielder has insisted that things could have been even worse for the Blancos.

"It is not the best result but the tie is wide open, it could have been better or worse," Alonso was quoted as saying on the official Madrid website.

"I think we started well and their goal was a little unfortunate. We just carried on the same, looking for the goal. In the second half they got behind the ball and made things more complicated.

"It will be a very interesting match in Manchester. We will go to win the match, which is what will give us more chance to go through."